Acting Principal's Notes

GRIP: On Monday I took all the prefects to the GRIP (Generosity, Responsibility, Integrity, People) student leadership conference at the Vodafone Events Centre in Auckland. It was a very entertaining day and our students learned what leadership was about and how they can become better leaders themselves. Some of the ideas they came away with were: How to involve more students in school events e.g. inter-iwi competitions, and How to improve the effectiveness of something already important at school e.g. Open Day. I am looking forward to seeing our prefects put what they've learned into action over the coming months.

High Tea: On Tuesday our year 10 Food Technology students hosted the school's first High Tea event. Members from the Rotary Club of Maungaturoto were our special guests for the afternoon and they were treated to a variety of delicious cakes, tarts, donuts, croissants, cheeses and other goodies, as well as a selection of teas and cold drinks. Our students provided excellent customer service and were wonderful ambassadors for our school. Well done to Ms Meachin for organising this event. 

Kapa Haka: Congratulations to our kapa haka group for putting on another fantastic performance, this time for the students from Maungaturoto, Kaiwaka and Paparoa schools who visited us on Friday afternoon. I am sure the numbers for kapa haka next year will be well up on this year's as kapa haka grows in popularity. Well done to Matua and Whaea for the hard work you have invested into these students.

Duke of Edinburgh Awards: Congratulations to one of our ex-students, Tyler Flannagan who received his Gold DOE Award from Sarah Hillary and Ken Hames at the Duke Of Edinburgh's Hillary Award Ceremony held at Pukekohe High School on Saturday 19th June. The Governor-General, Her Excellency The Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy was in attendance at the ceremony and spoke to the awardees. "The Duke Of Edinburgh's Hillary Award offers valuable opportunities to learn life skills,make new connections and engage more fully with your communities.The experiences you have had and the knowledge you have gained will stand you in good stead for years to come."

Tyler's citation in the official programme reads "Best time of my life! I enjoyed every moment of it from the environment I was in, to the people I was with. My best highlight was standing at the top of any mountain and just admiring how high above the ground I stood - it was such an incredible feeling." 

Congratulations Tyler! We are all very proud of you.  

Free and Healthy Lunches Programme: From next week we have decided to have Subway meals provided on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The Subs have proven to be very popular with students and I am sure they will enjoy having an additional day when these meals are provided.

Dirk Smyth